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Musician Ahmad Dhani could face two years behind bars for alleged hate speech
Prosecutors are seeking two years of imprisonment for musician Ahmad Dhani over alleged hate speech they say caused public uneasiness.
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Musician Ahmad Dhani (center) and his lawyers pose for a photograph at the South Jakarta District Court on Monday. (tribunnews.com/Apfia Tioconny Billy)
Prosecutors are seeking two years of imprisonment for musician Ahmad Dhani over alleged hate speech.
“We prosecutors demand that the judges declare the suspect guilty beyond reasonable doubt of inciting hatred against a certain group and [sentence him to] two years in prison,” the prosecution side read out its statement at the South Jakarta District Court on Monday, as reported by tribunnews.com.
Dhani was named a suspect for posting on his Twitter account messages that allegedly contain hate speech, one of which reads that “anyone who supports a blasphemer is scum that deserves to be spat on in the face,” in a clear reference to former Jakarta governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, who was sentenced to two years in prison last year for blasphemy against Islam.
The prosecutor added that there was no mitigating factor that could lessen the sentence and that the suspect had created public disquiet.
The tweets were posted during the Jakarta gubernatorial election campaign season, which coincided with Ahok’s blasphemy trial.
Members of the BTP Network of Ahok supporters reported the singer to the police in March last year. (fac)
